Not just the sea and beaches: the best photo of the Mykolaiv region was an ancient island seen from above
Berezan reminded how many of the region's landmarks the world still hasn't seen
The jury recognized an aerial photograph of the settlement site on the island of Mykolaiv Oblast as the best photo of the region in the results of the contest “Wiki Loves Monuments 2025”. The author of the winning work is Oleg Marchuk. This shot, taken on 19 July 2020, became the region’s main visual entry in one of Ukraine’s best-known contests dedicated to cultural heritage.
The island Berezan is located on a coastal shoal that stretches from Cape Adzhiyask and the western shore of the Berezansky estuary. It is about 13 km from Ochakiv, and 4.1 km from the cape itself. Of the populated places, the village Rybakivka is the closest to the island. The island itself is part of the National Historical and Archaeological Reserve “Olvia”.
What gives this place special value is that it was on Berezan that the oldest ancient Greek settlement in the Northern Black Sea region, Borysphenida, once existed. It is the settlement’s fortified site that was captured in the winning photo. In other words, this is not simply a picturesque aerial view, but an image of a monument that has exceptional significance for the history of the entire region and for Ukraine as a whole.
This site represents the Mykolaiv Oblast in the contest for the first time. Previously, the jury selected as the region’s best photos an image of the Mykolaiv Astronomical Observatory, a church in the village of Pelahiivka, a fragment of the exterior of the former private Monte theatre — now the Mykolaiv Academic Art Drama Theatre, the Church of St. Joseph in Mykolaiv, a water mill and the agricultural college in the village of Myhiya, the house of the Commander-in-Chief of the Black Sea Fleet in Mykolaiv, the foundations of the buildings of the ancient city of Olvia, a gazebo in Voznesensk and the Shukhov water tower.
According to contest representatives, Mykolaiv region belongs to those regions whose monuments are still insufficiently represented on Wikipedia and on Wikimedia Commons. That is why the organizers emphasize: every new high-quality photo or video of cultural heritage matters, especially in wartime, when many monuments become even more vulnerable and documenting historical sites gains additional importance.
“Mykolaiv Oblast is among those regions whose monuments are the least illustrated on Wikipedia. It is important for us to have more participants, more photos and videos, but of course this also has to be as safe as possible for them — I will only add that we accept works for the contest that were made earlier, not only contemporary ones. The main thing is that they are original photographs and videos, even those taken on film. Residents and visitors of the region may also be interested in special nominations — Jewish, German and Polish,” — said the press secretary of the NGO “Wikimedia Ukraine” and a member of the organizing committee of the contest “Wiki Loves Monuments” Olha Milyanovych.
Contest statistics also show how much space remains for new works. As of 2025, the list of monuments of Mykolaiv Oblast includes 2,626 cultural heritage objects. Of these, only 512, or about 19%, have photos on Wikimedia Commons. By the end of 2025, 17 participants uploaded 132 photos of 41 monuments, one of which was illustrated for the first time. In total, images of the region’s monuments have been submitted by 152 contestants throughout the contest’s history.
So the victory of the photo from Berezan is not only a nice story about a successful shot. It is also a reminder that the Mykolaiv region has a vast layer of historical heritage that remains unknown and unseen by many. And while part of the region lives daily under the threat of war, each such photograph also serves as evidence: our land has a deep history that must be preserved, shown to the world, and not allowed to disappear into the shadows.
Earlier we wrote:
- Decommunization continues: two Soviet monuments in Mykolaiv have lost their status as monuments
- UINP recommends dismantling the Makarov monument in Mykolaiv and renaming the NUK
- They waited a hundred years — and it happened: in Mykolaiv they decided what to do with the DOF… for now only on paper
- They plowed the burial mounds — historical sites turned into fields
- Destroyed cultural memory of Mykolaiv: 77 historical sites destroyed — will there be restoration?
